Archive for the 'Veritas' Category
Icebergs, Web 2.0 Expo and mental Freeze
Just arrived in San Francisco after that loooooooooong 12 hour flight from Munich in the loooooooooong Airbus A340-600, the strech-limo among commercial airplanes. Before heading to sleep to be as fit as possible – given the 9 hours time-shift – for the Web 2.0 Expo starting tomorrow, still wanted to share this fantastic picture from 34,000 feet north-north-west of Reykjavik. The icebergs of artica, standing proudly in their white serenity far beneath the engines of our Airbus. (Yes, and I am aware of the irony that the very same engines at that altitude might cause the icebergs to fade and that I am part of the problem …)
I am happily looking forward to the conference which I had attended last year already. It's a very hands-on event with learnings not so much like on the Web 2.0 Summit in November on the Big Business and Grand Talks of Bigwigs, but rather on getting things done. Not too bad either, if this is what the end matters.
So now I stranded here in San Francisco for a week, me, the "Digital Nomad" how a phenomenal special in "The Economist" has put together two weeks ago. Lots of worthwhile thoughts which had also made me think. For one, geography is definitely history. Many offices no longer have settings for each employee, but they rather provide space which can be instantaneously designed as an individual or collective place – with ubiquitous Wi-Fi. Or you don't really need an office at all, working from home or connecting from e.g. a Starbucks is increasingly becoming the norm. Anyway, the "Third Place" besides or between home and office is the new buzzword for both an infrastructural framework of the “homo mobilis” and a huge opportunity for innovative entrepreneurs. Thanks to tools like virtually accessible disk space, online social networks like XING or Skype the walls of a company and the borders of countries have been flattened alike.
Not really surprisingly, I could find myself very well in this portray. And I could second the downsides of this development. Being always on, everywhere connected but never there. I have been describing my state of mind increasingly like a self-selected semi-autism where I am cognitively in my own world with little influence of the real world around me. As a remedy I have actively sought to connect to friends whom I care for in person at these places to make that decisive difference. At the end, that's what I realized, nothing can replace the holistic experience of having someone you care for in front of you, with his or her mimic, gesture and kinetics. Poking someone on Facebook and poking someone on the shoulder is not one and the same thing.
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Visiting Vatsalya-Orphanage in Bangalore
Something I really don’t want to miss out on reporting was my visit to Bangalore’s Vatsalya Orphanage last Saturday. Thanks to my neighbour Shashi who is like a sister to me, takes care of my house when I am travelling and likewise of me when I am at home in Bangalore, has been involved for years into charity work for this place. The entire “Abhaya Ashram” of the compound has been handed over by the Maharaja of Mysore in 1948 then under the title of “Association for moral and social hygiene” – so says the inscript carved in stone at the entry.
I bow my head in deepest respect for all the work which Shashi and the other volunteers are putting into making this place a little oasis for those who would otherwise be forgotten and left behind. The place is neat, in good shape and very well run which is a challenge by itself: hiring some full-time staff, refurbishing things which need it most and constantly trying to find donors for funding.
I got such a very warm welcome by the around 50 children who were waiting in excitement for the “Uncle from Germany”, sitting row by row on mattresses. Many questions which I had to answer from “What do people eat in Germany” to “Why are you so tall”? I spend a good there, at some point solving some algebra equations with them (they really got all of them right). It was indeed for me very touching seeing all these bright, curious and energetic kids in front of me who certainly did not have the best start in the past, but thanks to Vatsalya could look into a brighter future.
Here is the bedroom of the children where they start their day really early at 5.30 am. And I could tell that they made a very robust and disciplined impression without missing out on giving them as much love as such a setting allows for. (Here are, by the way, a few more pictures on Flickr.)
My words in Vatsalya’s guestbook started with: “Where there is caring, there is hope”. Yet “caring” should not just remain an abstract metaphor on paper, but ought to translate into an obligation for myself to make a difference. For instance, reasonable money can pay for many clothes, books or desks in the classroom. And spending time there means equally doing a favour to the children as it doing a favour to myself for staying grounded to the realities of life and receiving these small little gestures that money can’t buy.
Singapore rocks
I love this country, returned after 5 amazing days to Bangalore and this city-state has definitely taken me in. IMHO Singapore is a blueprint how a country should be run. Admittedly it is a special situation to run a sovereign state with just 4.5 mn inhabitants on an area of 45 km in length and 25 km in width. But you can equally screw it up what Singapore managed to do right, very right. Not just one time, but consistently re-inventing itself by looking from the outside in instead just to its own navel. Just one figure: This little tiny state is able to attract per year more foreign visitors than whole India! I guess Singapore is doing something awfully right.
Especially, as I somehow had expected a rigid police state which is omnipresent to subjugate or discipline its citizens – and nothing is further from the truth. People do “jaywalk”, they do cross the street when it’s red. And it’s a great place to hand out and party the whole night. But on the other hand, the country knows exactly what it wants, and especially what it doesn’t want: crime, drugs and illegal immigration. In respect of the latter, Germany for instance could learn a lot which people to let in and which rather keep away.
Here a few pics, the entire set is here.
SINGAPORE PARLIAMENT
BUGIS STREET JUICE STAND
WHITE TIGERS IN SINGAPORE ZOO
Rome: Mesmerized from the Eternal City
There was no doubt that it would be an amazing experience, but Rome topped even the biggest expectations with its ubiquitious historical beauty.Here is the picture set on Flickr. It meant coming to the place which, as no other, has laid foundation to our cutural heritage as well as shaped the way of our western thinking. Both from the ancient history of the Roman Empire and well as in the aftermath of its collapse the rise of the Catholic Church. Visiting the Vatican with a savvy guide was more than a worthwhile investment given his vast insights into architecture, history and arts. Like here the Laocoon Group which made the start in a huge collection of statues, pictures and tapestries.
Moving slowly through the richness of the Vactican I contemplated about the usual and mostly simplistic critisizm of the current Pope “to be conservative”. In the first place, in my view “being conservative” is rather a virtue than a vice. Morover, what do you think if you are a Pope who is on top of both the oldest and the largest organization of the world, if your name indicates that there have been fifteen with the same name before you, if you are among the most brilliant intellectuals alive, if your belief is that your organization epitomizes the concept of truth and then some “progressive” journalist in some local newspaper calls you conservative: You simply don’t give a shit. And right so.
Which should not mean that the Catholic Church can’t ignore an environment which, also thanks to communication technology, is changing faster than ever. But reading the latest publications of Benedict XVI. like his encylce “Deus Caritas est”, the Pope displays are very real understanding of today’s world when he explains his e.g.model for separating of roles between the state and religion.
Here’s the famous Trevi Fountain in which you throw a coin over your back which allegedly will bring you back to Rome.
And me being and old fan of Latin Language wanted to see the Colosseum where my Latin textbook began with “Marcus hodie in Colosseum est”. I didn’t make it “in” the Colosseum, but at least in front of it. So I can confidently say: “René hodie ad Colosseum est.” (German translation: Renés Hoden sind am Colosseum” – LOL)
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One addition as I just came across Fabio’s (the guide’s) phone number in case you want to do the tour: +39 335 841 27 22 (kind regards from my side :-)
Does Intelligence drive Business Success?
There are many ways to express that business is about action and not about contemplation. Intelligence by itself can help, when it can prove to be some turbo-fuel to get the engine going. The best evidence comes from changing the perspective: I often wondered and admired people who were by no means kissed by the muse or intellectually attuned, yet both extremely successful in business and ethically immaculate. And the same time, I have met people who in spite of their supreme intelligence were not able to capture their entire potential. At the end, when looking back the road travelled of a succesful venture or project, it always has been a series of actions of not so much doing things right, but rather doing the right things.
In that respect, to avoid “paralysis through analysis, Prof. Zott from the business school Insead, recently during a lecture in Bombay dug out an inspiring poem from William Murray, The Scottisch Himalayan Expedition 1951 – latterally quoting JW v. Goethe
GENIUS
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back.
Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth,
the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:
that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves, too.
All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor
all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance,
which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.
Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, BEGIN IT.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. BEGIN IT NOW.
Happy Easter from the indolent Balkans
After the most intense, yet rewarding months of travelling in my life, I am happy to run on half cylinders in my Croatian home. Weather is nice, the fishermen’s village behaves as usually and the first tourists have poured in as well.
Just one thing sucks. The imbeciles from Croatian T-COM terminally switched off my internet at home. One could argue that it’s my fault as I failed to pay the bill for 3 months, although I had organized someone to do so. Shit happens. But what sucks even more is that you get lame answers from the service provider like: “prepayment is not possible” which would be obviously the easiest choice. And how about receiving the invoices per e-mail in order to become aware of outstanding debt? “Nema” (=does not exist) comes the a swift response. Welcome to the Balkans. Being half-Croatian and coming 36 years to this country, I feel reasonable safe to articulate a few blunt truths:
1. Work has certainly not been invented in Croatia.
2. Reliability is not a major trait either.
3. Service mentality to get the ass up for a customer is deeply stuck in a post-socialist mindset.
In most cases reputation is well deserved. Add other countries south of Croatia which have been part of former Yugoslavia, and you have them: The Balkans. Looking at the snail-like pace of their economic progress and correlating it to the multitude of personal experiences I have had, then they clearly are where they are, because they behave as they behave.
My view got amplified my meeting a devout Croatian Marko two days back here who was born and raised in Germany and is currently working in Offenbach, a city close to Frankfurt. “I love my country and if I had 8 mn Euro, I would move here immediately for living. But I would never want to make my living here.” You don’t need 8 mn Euro for a good life in Croatia, but it costst you at least 8 million nerve cells to get through the ever-prevailing indolence when you come with a “getting things done attitude.” Motherland, it’s wake-up time!
Bangalore: Wind of Change
The heat makes the air stand still, the skin feels washed from dust and in spite of unforgiving chaos, the pace of the city moves a few degrees slower than usually. It’s summertime in Bangalore; some call it bluntly “hot season”. Time to sharpen the remaining senses in sleepless nights without A/C and observe what is happening beneath the crust. The thoughts, their intentions and their results are alert as usually, so is the change sweeping through “Garden City”. Old one-story buildings in the centre are being vacated, the Mum & Pop stores are empty ; the wrecker’s ball is reporting for duty. “Sytematically organizing the retail sector is a huge opportunity”, the investment bankers say. Oh yeah, “so much value out there” and “the time is now”. Get a life, my small laundry shop around the corner has gone, too, where I confidently dropped my clothes. Where have the people gone who reliably used to wash my laundry in the scarce water of Bangalore to have it then dried in the hot air which is standing still? Wind of change.
Merry Christmas from Rovinj
Just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas from Rovinj, my little beloved home town in North Croatia. This sunset at around 4.50 pm I took the day before yesterday. And what is slightly visible on the top left corner as a sickle is the moon.
And this is the view on the town which is beautifully lit for the season with the tower of the St. Euphemia signalling the upcoming 2007.
God bless you.
Pope Benedict XVI gives Interview to German TV
As some sort of tradition, Pope Benedict XVI. has made it a custom that he gives interviews before he undertakes a major travel abroad. So he invited four German journalists in the forefront of his visit to Bavaria, his (and also my) homeland in the beginning of September. If you want to see the entire interview (it’s in German language), make sure you have the Real-Player installed, then click HERE:
I don’t hesitate to confess at any occasion that my admiration for this man is unlimited. Our by far brightest living German is sitting in Rome on the Holy See. Once you start reading the books he has written during his entire life, you will realize that deep conviction of his Christian faith in combination with a razorsharp intellectual mind. If you are a believer or not, one cannot deny the unparalled purity of his thought. What I mean with “purity” extends to two dimensions: one, the unblurred clarity of his mental agility to support an argument from the thesis to its conclusion as well as two, the unshaken principles of virtue of this humble and unassuming personality. People who had seen him speaking always came back stunned that Benedict and previously also the theologist Prof. Joseph Ratzinger speaks freely as if it is written. And that’s what you get to see in this interview: His answers are visibly spontaneous, but he follows them through with an amazing sharpness and refined structure of his words.
What I liked most from what he said is that he wants to refresh the faith in our single-sidedly enlightened western socities by propelling a positive message, to say what the church stays for instead of reconfirming the false perception that it stands for a “collection of prohibitions”. Furthermore, he is right to make the the point that the “clash of civilizations” which we are facing at the moment in the Middle East or in its most perverted form of the (thwarted) terrorist attacks, can hardly be met just by the excessive rational secularism into which we westerners seem to project the highest stage of personal freedom. By contrast, if we want to engage in a cross-cultural dialogue, Christianity is not a party in an “us against them”-conflict, but can rather function as a bridge in which other cultures will recognize the respect towards some higher being under which we submit our own demeanor. I could tell from many occasions when I got asked in India what my religion was: Whan I replied “Catholic”, all perfect, especially because Hinduism is a strongly open, tolerant and, say, “inclusive” religion. When I conducted the counter test and said “nothing”, “atheist” or “agnostic”, I could see total disbelief, even the attitude that I was missing out on something very important in my life.
There was just one passage which I did not like: I would like to stress up-front that religion is much more than the annoying debate of condoms vs. non-condoms. Yet, the Pope’s conclusion that just technical education and the recommendation of contraceptives in Africa have only lead to war and AIDS-epidemics, is factually flawed. He has a point, though, that education should not just pertain to skills and engineering, but should also extend to the formation of moral standards. Certainly Africa as the forgotten continent has certainly a long way to go for both of these objectives, yet ignoring the success of decreased infection-rates and AIDS-deads where sexual eduaction had been undertaken with rigour, is close to cynical.
Nevertheless, Benedict’s interview is a masterpiece and underscores his justified weight as a great religious and secular leader of the 21st century.
Mark Twain on Risk Taking
Just re-discovered one of my favourite proverbs which which served as my Leitmotiv when I emigrated to India more almost two and a half years back:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — (Mark Twain)
It has been an exciting ride, sometimes bumpy, but it overall an experience which shaped me more than anything else. And the best of it: The journey is still on.
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